Voice of CT

Melissa in the Morning: Tackling Anti-Semitism at School

Earlier this month, a swastika was found and removed from a high school girls’ locker room in Fairfield. It’s the latest report of antisemitic acts made on school campuses in Connecticut. We spoke with the Anti-Defamation League in Connecticut to talk about reports of hate incidents, why there’s been such an uptick of incidents from young kids and the impact on classmates. ADL Connecticut Regional Director, Stacey Sobel, joined the show.

For more information: https://connecticut.adl.org/

Image Credit: Reuters

Melissa in the Morning: Connecticut Beach Report

A new report looks at the health of our beaches along Long Island Sound. According to Sound Health Explorer, which conducted the study, the analysis shows how Sound beaches rank when measured against the criteria for safe swimming and indicates how wet or dry weather influences these conditions. Sound Health Explorer is a project of Save the Sound. We spoke with Bill Lucey, Long Island Soundkeeper for Save the Sound, about the findings.

For the full report, go to: https://soundhealthexplorer.org/explore/reports/
For the Beach Report Map: https://soundhealthexplorer.org/swimmable/
For more information on Save The Sound: https://www.savethesound.org

Image Credit: Getty Images

Melissa in the Morning: Red Pandas

The Beardsley Zoo is welcoming a new furry face to the campus. 10-month-old Dorji joins 14-year-old Berry in the Natt Family Red Panda habitat. We found out about Dorji’s story and how he ended up at Connecticut’s only zoo.
IMAGE CREDIT: Jack Bradley

CT Today With Paul Pacelli – Please … Calm Down

Host Paul Pacelli kicked-off a busy Thursday edition of “Connecticut Today” urging people to “pump the brakes” on a controversy surrounding flags and Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito (00:29). “Only In Bridgeport” blogger Lennie Grimaldi looked again at the biggest news in and around the Park City (12:21), while columnist Chris Powell had some thoughts on the biggest stories around Connecticut, including recent statements by Connecticut Democratic U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy (23:13)

Image Credit: REUTERS

Melissa in the Morning: Boater Safety Week

The most recent data from the US Coast Guard shows more than four thousand boat accidents in America during the 2022 calendar year. Those incidents reportedly involved 636 deaths, thousands of injuries and tens of millions of dollars in damages. This week is National Boater Safety Week and we wanted to talk about the basics for boating safety. Scott Appleby, Director of Emergency Management in Bridgeport, talked about the importance of life vests, navigation, emergency preparations, weather detection and more.

Image Credit: Getty Images

Melissa in the Morning: Nightmares and Lupus?

A new study suggests vivid nightmares could be an early indicator of an autoimmune disease like lupus. Researchers at the University of Cambridge and King’s College London found there was a link between nightmares and the onset of hallucinations in some lupus patients. The researchers found over 60-percent of lupus patients in their survey who experienced hallucinations reported having nightmares before the onset of lupus. We asked Dr. Browne about the findings and any takeaways we should think about. We also looked at another study, this one discussing fish oil pills. A new study published this week in the journal BMJ Medicine found that those with no cardiovascular issues that took fish oil saw higher risks of atrial fibrillation and stroke.

Image Credit: Getty Images

Melissa in the Morning: Skin Cancer Awareness Month

According to national data, 1 in 5 Americans will develop skin cancer by the age of 70. Skin cancer is still the most common cancer in the US and worldwide. And ahead of the summer season with more people exposed to the sun, May is skin cancer awareness month. We spoke with Hartford HealthCare’s Dr. Jill Rubinstein, a skin cancer specialist, about the latest treatments and research findings. We also debunked a lot of myths people believe to be true about skin cancer.

Image Credit: Getty Images

Melissa in the Morning: Hurricane Season Prep

Expert weather forecasters are projecting a significant number of dangerous storms this year. The 2024 Atlantic Hurricane season is predicted to bring 24 named storms, 11 of which could become hurricanes, and six of which could reach Category 3 or stronger. This is far beyond the 30-year average and notably above the storms we had in 2023. That’s why a panel discussion was hosted in Fairfield ahead of the June first start date. We spoke with Senator Tony Hwang, who moderated the meeting, and gave us feedback from experts who addressed residents.

Image Credit: Getty Images

Melissa in the Morning: Support Local this Memorial Day Weekend

This week, the pizza makers from Pepe’s Modern, Sally’s and many other area favorites boarded a charter Avelo flight to Washington DC to declare New Haven as the pizza capital of the U.S. It comes one week after the state launched a new marketing plan to highlight our state’s oyster industry (CT Oyster Trail.) We thought it was a great time to check in with Scott Dolch, President and CEO of Connecticut Restaurant Association. He talked about the food stories attracting people to our state but also highlighted the importance of supporting local eateries during Memorial Day weekend.

IMAGE CREDIT: Melissa Sheketoff

CT Today With Paul Pacelli – More and More People are Getting High

Wednesday’s midweek edition of “Connecticut Today” with host Paul Pacelli looked at new numbers highlighting regular marijuana use in the U.S. (00:19). Hearst Connecticut Media senior editor and columnist Dan Haar dropped by to talk about the hottest stories around the state (13:14)

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